How current trends are reflected in GTA games

The latest parts of the Grand Theft Auto series are dedicated to a variety of eras, from the 80s to the present. But in them one could see a reflection of the time when development took place. Our article is devoted to this phenomenon.

Grand Theft Auto 3

GTA 3 takes place in 2001. However, the game itself is filled with the spirit of the 90s, including the cinema of those years. For example, the plot is based on the cold action thriller Payback (1999) with Mel Gibson. The plot also coincides with the betrayal of the main character and the thirst for revenge.

By the 90s, the influence of Japanese thugs in the United States and other countries had already weakened, but in the movies they began to be made into main villains. They appeared not only in modern action films, but also in science fiction films, for example, in Johnny Mnemonic. In GTA 3, the Yakuza was an influential force with which Claude initially collaborated and then went against it.

In the 90s, Donald Trump was not yet known as the President of the United States. Then he was a successful entrepreneur. From 1989 to 1997, the businessman experienced serious financial difficulties, but was able to cope with them and eventually returned to the ranks of billionaires. There were rumors that Trump used less than legal methods to achieve his goals. The story of Donald Love can be considered a kind of parody of his activities.

Pagers deserve special mention. These small devices that can be used to send text messages were quite popular in America in the 90s.

GTA: Vice City

Even though Vice City was set in the 1980s, Tommy Vercetti used a cell phone. Of course, there were already mobile phones back then, but they remained rare. Therefore, we associate the appearance of such a device with the fashion for them in the early 2000s. It was during this period that active development of the game took place.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Much of San Andreas' plot, characters, and main menu music are taken from the 1993 film Menace II Society. Around this time the events of the game take place. However, interest in the theme of African-American ghettos grew precisely in the 2000s, when the game was released.

Special attention should be paid to car tuning, the use of nitrous oxide in racing and car dancing using flexible suspension. All this refers us to the culture of street racing, which just gained popularity after the release of the first films in the Fast and the Furious series, as well as the Need for Speed: Underground duology. We are talking about the period from 2001 to 2003.

It is also worth telling the story of the singer Rochelle, who graces the cover of GTA: San Andreas. It is mentioned that she was popular in the past, but now the girl is forced to take a break from creativity, because interest in her songs has noticeably dropped. Here we have a reference to Mariah Carey, who from 2001 to 2004 did not have the best period in her work due to the failure of her last album, a breakup with her boyfriend and health problems. It is from this singer that the image of the hot blonde Rochelle is based. Interestingly, six months after the release of San Andreas, Mariah released the album The Emancipation of Mimi, which returned her to the heights of world fame.

GTA 4 + Episodes from Liberty City

The last two parts of the Grand Theft Auto series take place at the same time as the release of these games. But years later they look like a mirror of the era. For example, in the fourth GTA there are dating sites where you can invite a girl on a date. This was relevant in 2008, but now this type of communication seems outdated. New acquaintances are more often found in regular social networks based on common interests. But girls still send racy selfies with teasing messages to their favorite guys today.

Separately, it is worth noting the story of the confrontation between the gang of the Lost and the Angels of Death from the add-on The Lost and Damned. Their gang war tracks real-life biker clashes in the 2000s. Then the Hell's Angels emerged victorious. But their happiness did not last long, because people from the police and the FBI became interested in the guys. As a result, many of them ended up behind bars. Something similar happened in the first story DLC for GTA 4.

Grand Theft Auto 5

The fifth part of the GTA series actively ridiculed some of the realities of its time. It included parodies of the iPhone, social networks, the show America's Got Talents ("America's Got Talents") and much more. We found it especially funny to compare Trevor’s marginal lifestyle with the then fashionable hipsters. Now few people remember about them. At the same time, iPhones and social networks are still relevant.

GTA 6

Information about the sixth GTA is limited to one official trailer, but even in it one can find a reflection of today. First of all, I would like to note the format of short videos from TikTok, in which we see various freaks, for example, the Joker from Florida.

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